A friend of mine recently asked if I had a classic chocolate chip cookie recipe on my blog and it suddenly struck me that I didn’t. What the? Obviously I had to right this wrong immediately.

I’m glad this recipe only makes 12 cookies, because I made a lot of batches to get this right. In the end I didn’t stray too far from the original America’s Test Kitchen recipe, but I went through a few recipes to make sure these were my favorite. They’re crispy on the edges, soft in the middle and they don’t skimp on the chocolate. A sprinkle of flaky sea salt on top is a must. It’s a one-bowl wonder, too. You don’t need to soften butter or use a mixer. You simply need a wooden spoon, a little elbow grease and a craving for chocolate chip cookies. I hope you love them as much as I do!

And if you put some vanilla ice cream in between two of the cookies and make a chipwich, you’re my hero forever.

My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies

Maldon sea salt, flaky grey sea salt or fleur de sel will all work great on top of the cookies, your choice. As always, use the best quality ingredients you can find. I like to buy Wholesome Sweeteners brown sugar, King Arthur Flour, organic unsalted butter, Nielsen Massey madagascar bourbon vanilla extract and Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips. Chopped semisweet chocolate is great, too, for beautiful irregular shards of chocolate.

Ingredients

14 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided (1+3/4 sticks)

1 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour (8+3/4 ounces)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 cup packed brown sugar (5+1/4 ounces)

1/4 cup granulated sugar (1+3/4 ounces)

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1 1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

Maldon sea salt for sprinkling

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to middle position and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silpats.

Heat 10 tablespoons of the unsalted butter in a saucepan or skillet over medium heat until butter just melts. Continue cooking and swirling the pan until butter begins to get golden and has a nutty aroma, about 3-4 minutes more. Turn heat off and add remaining 4 tablespoons of butter and let sit until melted.

Put flour and baking soda in a small bowl or 2-cup pyrex measuring cup and stir with a fork. Set aside. In a large bowl add both sugars, sea salt and vanilla. Pour in melted butter and use a spatula to scrape the flavorful brown bits out of the skillet, and whisk until fully incorporated. Add egg and egg yolk and whisk until no lumps remain, about 30 seconds. Let mixture rest for 3 minutes and then whisk for 30 seconds. Repeat process of resting and whisking 2 more times until mixture is thick, smooth and shiny. Add flour and baking soda to the large bowl and use a wooden spoon to combine until flour is just incorporated, do not overmix. Stir in chocolate chips and make sure no flour pockets remain.

Put dough in the refrigerator and chill for 2 hours and up to 3 days. You do want the dough cold, but if it chills longer than a few hours it will become hard and it will have to sit out at room temp until it’s still chilled, but can be scooped. The flavor and texture does improve after a 48 hour rest.

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Use a standard ice cream scoop to scoop dough mounds onto baking sheet. Arrange 2 inches apart, 6 per sheet. Use your fingers to press the dough mounds down a bit and sprinkle with a good pinch of Maldon sea salt. Lightly press the salt onto the cookie.

Bake cookies 1 tray at a time for 10 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through baking time for even browning. You don’t want to put the cold cookie dough on hot baking sheets, so use two sheets or let the one cool completely before baking the next batch. Let cookies cool on tray for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Nicole Dula at http://www.dulanotes.com/my-favorite-chocolate-chip-cookies/

Oh good heavens, these look like perfection! Also, I had a CC cookie ice cream craving the other day and made some 🙂 Treats like that remind me of childhood in the best way. The next time that carving hits, I’m totally making these!

I find it surprisingly difficult to be happy with such simple and traditional recipes. I LOVE chocolate chip cookies, but I guess if something’s so traditional, it has to be done perfectly. That said, there look really good. I think I’ll have to give them a shot.

I know what you mean, Ellie. I struggle with sharing classic recipes because everyone likes something inventive and new. I do have 2 gluten-free choc chip cookie recipes and a tahini chocolate chip cookie on the site, so I guess those are my spins on the traditional cookie 🙂 I feel like everyone should have one solid chocolate chip cookie up their sleeve and for me, this one is it!

I came across your site today and am so glad I did! I look forward to reading your posts. These photos are lovely – I just love how you can see the salt crystals on top of the cookies. I’ve tried the America’s Test Kitchen recipe before but haven’t made it in a while. I’m bookmarking your variation so I can try it soon.